Chapter 7453  Internships

The next day, Ves and Gloriana took their two children aside to inform them of their new schedule.

Predictably, the two kids reacted with excitement, as they lacked a complete understanding of the risks involved.

"Will I be able to accompany the troops and fight the aliens directly?!"

"Can I ride along in the cockpit of one of our mechs?"

"Dise told me that a true warrior can only be forged in battle! My sword is ready! A blade that isn't watered with blood will rust over time!"

Ves raised his hand after enduring the nagging of his overenthusiastic brats. "Calm down, calm down. Your mother and I will never permit you to fight the enemy directly. You can throw away all fantasies about accompanying our boarding troops into hostile vessels or occupying a second seat in a mech on deployment. No matter how clever you have become, you are still kids, and very young ones at that. Be grateful for what we are willing to extend to you. Ordinary parents would never let you do this stuff."

That calmed the two children for a bit.

Gloriana bent down to her knees and pressed her palms against their cheeks. "I hope the two of you can forgive us for infringing on your right to be children. We love you, but that is also the reason why we do not want to smother you with comfort and peace. We have thought about sending you back to a safe location such as New Constantinople VIII, but we have decided not to because we think you will be much better prepared to face the challenges of the future if you are already taking part in our work."

"I am fine, mama." Andraste leaned into her mother's touch. "I am not as big of a girl as Aurelia, but I am more than willing to become an intern."

"Me too!" Marvaine said. "Putting Mekanos together is fun and all, but they are just toys in the end. Working with real mechs is much more exciting. I want to take those big machines apart and see what they are like inside!"

Ves briefly smiled at them. "I am glad to hear that you are fully onboard with our idea. That said, the two of you need to take your new assignments seriously. We are bestowing you the duties that are normally assumed by adults. This means that we expect the both of you to learn the professionalism of your guides and imitate them as much as possible. We do not expect you to perform at their level, so do not push yourselves too hard. Leave the actual work to the professionals. You are there to learn."

After making sure their children knew what to expect, Gloriana briefly explained their specific assignments.

"We would prefer to station you on a Larkinson ship, but we do not want the two of you to become separated from us. The Tarrasque may not be the largest ship in the combined fleet, but she is still the safest hull on a comprehensive basis. We have negotiated with the mechers to embed you into their units for a test period. If there are any problems or too many disturbances, we will end this trial, understand?"

Both children nodded.

"Andraste, you will be splitting time between two different infantry units. You will first begin to learn the basics of soldiery, discipline, conventional firearms and small-scale tactics with the help of a squad of the RA's elite commandos. After you have proven you can learn how to operate alongside well-trained and highly disciplined career soldiers, we will allow you to spend time with the RC's 2nd Apocalypse Wardens. These are the bodyguards that you often see around us. Their combat methods, gear and doctrines are on a different level. They encapsulate the results of many advancements made since the start of the Age of Dawn. The Apocalypse Wardens fight more closely according to your talents and inclinations."

The red-headed girl practically jumped with energy when she heard that she could actually learn a thing or two from the Apocalypse Wardens!

Their dramatic names already hinted at their amazing combat power. Despite not possessing the sheer destructive scale of mechs, their cutting-edge infantry-grade equipment combined with the powers bestowed by their considerable attainments in qi cultivation allowed them to fight at a level far beyond any infantry squad from the previous age!

As one of the Red Collective's flagship battalions, the 2nd Apocalypse Wardens also received an upgrade to their combat armor and a portion of their armaments.

Although not all of the Apocalypse Wardens received the latest upgrades, the collies made sure to assign the unit attached to Ves with the latest versions of mid-grade superdimensional gear!

Though Ves felt that the relatively early implementation of superdimensional technology had a lot of room for improvement and optimization, the raw power of superdimensional alloys still transformed the combat power of the Apocalypse Wardens to another level!

They could easily defeat 10 times their former selves due to this expensive upgrade alone!

Andraste clearly understood this disparity as well. Though her parents had limited her exposure to superdimensional combat gear out of safety concerns, she yearned to wield a true superdimensional sword just like her Swordmaiden mentors!

A hand suddenly patted the top of her head, causing her to feel belittled. "Hey! I am a big girl now!"

"Whatever you say, pumpkin." Ves responded with an indulgent smile. "Do not get ahead of yourself. I am sure that your instructors have drilled into your mind that weapons are not toys, but you are still so young that we are not quite sure the lesson has stuck. Your 'internship' will expose you to a lot of deadly stuff. Prove to us that you can act responsibly around them. Becoming a soldier is a duty, not a reward. As long as you can prove that you understand this distinction, we will give you a surprise when you are ready to move on to greater responsibilities."

This promise clearly lit the little girl up. "I love you, papa!"

"Haha, I love you too." Ves gently said before turning to his youngest child. "Marvaine, as for you, we do not expect you to work as hard as your sister. Your sessions are shorter and your work assignments will not be as arduous. Don't look disappointed. Your schooling is still important and you have many more years to gain practical experience. That said, we think it is good for your development to spend a few hours a week auditing one of the RA maintenance crews assigned on this ship. The mechers work substantially differently from Larkinsons like us, but their professionalism with anything related to mechs is not in doubt."

Gloriana gave her son a stern look. "Safety comes first, boy. You will obey the orders of your supervisors. You will not attempt to deviate from your instructions unless you have gained explicit permission. You will not approach any mech up close unless it is completely secured and locked down. In any other case, you are only permitted to interact with mechs from a distance and preferably inside a well-protected control room. While the mechers hold themselves to a high standard, accidents can always happen, particularly during high-intensity combat scenarios. Damaged machines can topple over. Overloaded power reactors can leak deadly radiation. Scalding hot coolant can melt the hazard suits of unprepared workers. Even if you are wearing a luxurious high-performing personal shield generator, that is no excuse to take your safety lightly."

She had good reasons to be concerned about safety.

The hangar bays of the Tarrasque may be built to very high specifications, all of the redundant safety measures could easily become compromised if the section suffered direct hits from enemy attacks.

Though Ves believed it would be difficult for any enemy to target the Tarrasque under heavy escort, he could never rule out the possibility.

Therefore, no one aboard the ship could take their safety for granted. This included 'non-combatants' such as Gloriana who would ordinarily be stationed well inside the citadel of the heavy cruiser.

"Will I be able to make suggestions of my own?" The little boy asked. "Can I put together a basic machine with the machines?"

"Possessing an inquisitive mind is one of the essential traits of a successful mech designer." Ves answered. "Though you are limited by your age, you will still obtain limited opportunities to take part in discussions and operate many different kinds of production machines. However, everything you do will remain under supervision from professionals who know what they are doing. Each of them will receive an express instruction to err on the side of caution. You are still many years away from putting together a real mech."

Both Ves and Gloriana regarded their son's love for the technical side of mechs with fondness. It was only too bad that he had been born too late to do anything truly serious. Letting him 'assist' with light repairs and routine maintenance already stretched the boundary as far as they were concerned.

"Will I be able to work on a powerful ace mech like the Riot Mark III?!" Marvaine suddenly asked.

"Absolutely not." Gloriana's tone clearly broke no argument. "Do not even think about it. Every ace mech is a carefully designed engine of power and destruction. Even if they are much better designed and built than mass production mechs, the consequences of failure are also that much greater. This is particularly pronounced when it comes to the Riot Mark III, which is a machine that not only harms our enemies, but also the pilot herself and people around her. You will never be stationed in the same compartment as this dangerous machine."

Only a fool or a sadistic bastard would ever consider it a good idea to bring an innocent young child in the vicinity of a powerful but barely-contained D-mech of this level!

Even if Ves was brain-damaged enough to permit this action, Marvaine wouldn't learn anything aside from sheer terror.

The Riot Mark III was far too advanced for student of his level to learn anything meaningful about mech design!

There were good reasons why particularly powerful and high-end mechs kept their distance from the general population.

Their sheer power and visual impact often distorted the psychologies of ordinary people. The greater the disparity, the greater the impact on their minds.

It may be fine to let people get in touch with virtual mechs or view their performance on a projected feed, but true proximity had to be avoided as much as possible.

This especially applied to impressionable young children!

Neither Ves nor Gloriana wanted to 'contaminate' their youngest child too much too soon.

They did not want Marvaine to become obsessed with their approach towards mechs to the point he could only imitate their works.

He deserved to shape his own unique vision and design philosophy towards mechs.

This was also another reason why both parents found it better to restrict Marvaine's contact to the RA first-class multipurpose mechs stationed on the Tarrasque.

The mechers had access to a lot of excellent design philosophies as well as high technologies.

This ubiquitous access did not drive them crazy.

Ves had learned from his talks with Jovy that RA mech designers went through strict training in order to learn restraint and discipline.

They could not wantonly waste the Association's resources, nor abuse advanced technologies when more low-end solutions sufficed.

Ves believed that the RA could teach Marvaine the right starting foundation with regards to mech design.

There should be plenty of opportunities in the future for Ves to shape his son into a more adventurous mech designer, but first he needed to master the fundamentals.

If he was able to do so a decade in advance, then that would grant him more time to delve into the deeper and more profound aspects of mech design when he had reached an adolescent stage!

Exlor